An increasing number of schools in Missouri are transitioning to a four-day week, with over 160 school districts already adopting this model. On December 12, 2023, the Excelsior Springs School Board approved the formation of a committee to research the potential implementation of a four-day school week in our district.
The topic sparked considerable debate amongst the board. “I think it’s a terrible idea,” Darren McKown exclaimed. With so much focus on attendance within the district and across the state, McKown questioned why the school board would be asked to enact a plan that takes kids out of school another day.
Tomlinson said the move to a four-day schedule across the state and our region significantly impacts the district’s recruitment and retention efforts. He noted that Excelsior Springs had recently lost several staff members to Orrick, which implemented a four-day schedule beginning this year.
Tomlinson advised the board that given the widespread request from teachers for this change across the district, he felt it would be prudent to establish a committee to delve into the possibility. By doing so, he said the district could demonstrate to its staff that their requests were being taken seriously and given due consideration.
Jill Evert expressed that she felt it was worth the research effort simply due to the large number of teachers asking for the change. “If [the teachers] are asking about it, I have no problem looking into it. But, it’s going take a lot to sway me on this,” added Mckown.
For Excelsior Springs, it is difficult to tell how the community would be affected by the 4-day week until the committee reports back. But, several topics of concern were immediately brought up during the meeting. Some felt there might be issues with the career center, which brings in students from surrounding schools that may not have the same schedule. Others mentioned the impact on the community due to the probable need for childcare and nutrition for working families. Scheduling of extracurricular activities was also mentioned briefly.
“The committee plans to come up with the pros and the cons for our district,” Tomlinson said in a brief interview with The Excelsior Citizen after the meeting, “We just want to make sure we are making the best choices for our families.”
More information will likely be revealed about the possibility of a four-day as the committee reports back to the school board throughout the rest of this year.
What do you think of a possible change to a four-day school week? How could it impact our families, the community, our schools, and kids? Let us know in the comments below.
The ESSD School Board meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 PM at the Support Services Building in Room 8, 113 Line Street in Excelsior Springs, MO. Meetings are live-streamed courtesy of the Excelsior Springs Hospital, the Simmons Sales Team, and Platte-Clay Electric Coop to the Excelsior Citizen Facebook Page, Facebook Group, and YouTube channel.
Board of Education agendas and documentation can be found at https://essd40.com/district_information/board_of_education
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Just another way to Dumb the Citizens Down! I think a 6 Day School Week could help the kids focus, not less School Days.
Plus take away all their phones while they are in school. Let the children learn without stupid distractions. If there is an emergency, they can be contacted by calling the front desk at the school. This 4 day idea is just the latest and greatest scheme to dumb down our kids, and make them more ill-informed when it comes to voting.
Bob Stop talking already
If you are manufacturing a product (and educating children is a product) you can’t produce the same quantity in four days as you can in five days without either speeding up production or working longer days. In this case, if you speed up the process, the slower students will be left behind and longer days would be counter productive because the mind can’t absorbe what the rear end can’t endure. I think we can all remember how our rear ends felt by the end of the school day. It would require the elimination of the summer break to maintain the same number of classroom hours.
If you go to a 4 day week,lots of parents will have to pay for child care for that day their child is not in school. If you do approve 4days you wont need as much money in the budget to operate.maybe you can lower my taxes which continue to go up every year,and 90 percent of my tax bill is school tax. Just received my tax bill and it is up $350.00 , and over the last 10 years it has doubled. Don’t think it is smart to approve 4 days.
I do not think it’s in the best interest of the children to change to a 4 day school week. On top of that parents will have to pay for childcare while also struggling to find childcare close by.
My child has always gone to public school until this year when we decided to homeschool. Honestly the kids don’t need that many hours in a day to learn, 4 days will be plenty. I also worked for NKCSD for 15 yrs, kids are tired, teachers are tired! Kids are only being taught nowa days for all the standardized testing to prove if the teachers are doing their jobs right or not? 4 days IS enough!